1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to textile laundering appliances (e.g., washing machines) having cylindrical drums which rotate about a horizontal axis during use, and having access doors mounted in outer surfaces of the drum for loading textiles into the drum and for removing laundered textiles from the drum.
2. Description of Related Art
Several different types of textile laundering appliances (e.g., commercial/industrial washing machines) have cylindrical drums which rotate about a horizontal axis during use and have access doors mounted in outer surfaces of the drum for loading textiles (e.g., garments) into the drum and for removing laundered textiles from the drum. One example of such a laundering appliance is a washer/extractor 10 depicted in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of washer/extractor 10. Washer extractor 10 includes a cylindrical drum 12 mounted within a housing 14. During a typical use, soiled garments are placed within drum 12, drum 12 is filled to a certain level with water, detergent is added to the water in drum 12, and drum 12 is rotated about a horizontal axis 16 in order to flush foreign substances from the garments.
Drum 12 is essentially a hollow cylinder with circular plates covering both open ends of the hollow cylinder. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, drum 12 is divided into two compartments or "pockets" 18a and 18b of substantially equal volume by a planar partition 20. Partition 20 is perpendicular to and extends between both circular plates of drum 12. Three access doors 22a-c in the curved outer surface of drum 12 allow access to pocket 18a. Similarly, three access doors 22d-f in the curved outer surface of drum 12 allow access to pocket 18b. During use, pockets 18a and 18b are loaded with substantially equal weights of garments to minimize reciprocal motion imparted upon housing 14 by drum 12 due to rotating eccentric masses of wet garments.
Washer/extractor 10 is designed for isolation of laundered and soiled garments, and subsequently has a load side 24 and an unload side 26. Soiled garments may be stored in an area adjacent to load side 24, and are loaded into drum 12 from load side 24. Laundered garments are removed from drum 12 from unload side 26, and may be stored in an area adjacent to unload side 26. As a result, a significant amount of physical separation is achieved between laundered and soiled garments.
Washer/extractor 10 also includes an outer shell 28 surrounding drum 12 having two arcuate shell doors 30a and 30b. Shell door 30a is located on load side 24 of shell 28, and is shown in a closed position. When drum 12 is suitably rotated and shell door 30a is in an open position, shell door 30a allows access to access doors 22a-c for loading soiled garments into pocket 18a, and allows access to access doors 22d-f for loading soiled garments into pocket 18b. Shell door 30b is located on unload side 26 of shell 28, and is shown in an open position. As shown, shell door 30b allows access to access doors 22a-c for removing laundered garments from pocket 18a. When drum 12 is suitably rotated, open shell door 30b allows access to access doors 22d-f for removing laundered garments from pocket 18b.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an exemplary access door 22 mounted within a frame 32 attached to drum 12. Access door 22 is substantially rectangular, and has a hinge 34 on one side and a latch 36 on a side opposite hinge 34. Latch 36 includes a locking mechanism 38 including two parallel cylindrical locking pins 40 joined by a cylindrical connecting bar 42. Locking pins 40 have axes perpendicular to a planar face of a portion 44 of frame 32 adjacent to the end of access door 22 including latch 36. Connecting bar 42 has an axis perpendicular to the axes of locking pins 40 and parallel to the planar face of portion 44. A pair of springs 46 urge locking mechanism 38 toward portion 44 of frame 32 such that ends 48 of locking pins 40 protrude from access door 22. Portion 44 of frame 32 has two holes 50 dimensioned to receive ends 48 of locking pins 40. When access door 22 is flush with frame 32, access door 22 is in a closed position. When ends 48 of locking pins 40 extend into holes 50 in portion 44 of frame 32, latch 36 is in a locked position. When access door 22 is closed and latch 36 is locked, access door 22 seals an opening in drum 12 and cannot be rotated about an axis 52 through hinge 34 to an open position.
FIGS. 4 and 5 will now be used to describe how a user may open access door 22 manually. In FIG. 4, the user wraps the fingers of his or her left hand 54 around connecting bar 42 and the thumb of hand 54 around a bar 56 fixed to access door 22. The user may then contract the fingers as shown in FIG. 5, compressing springs 46 and moving locking mechanism 38 away from portion 44 of frame 32 such that ends 48 of locking pins 40 exit holes 50 and no longer protrude from access door 22. When ends 48 of locking pins 40 exit holes 50, latch 36 is in an unlocked position. When latch 36 is unlocked, access door 22 may be rotated about axis 52 through hinge 34 to the open position.
A problem arises when opening access doors 22 of washer/extractor 10. Springs 46 of latch 36 of each access door 22 must exert a certain amount of force upon locking mechanism 38 to keep latch 36 locked and access door 22 closed when drum 12 is rotated. Some users do not have sufficient strength in one hand, or even both hands in combination, to unlock latch 36. That is, some users do not have sufficient hand strength to overcome the force exerted by springs 46 and move locking mechanism 38 far enough away from portion 44 of frame 32 such that ends 48 of locking pins 40 retract into access door 22, exiting holes 50 in portion 44 of frame 32. It is not always convenient to relegate the opening of access doors 22 to a user possessing sufficient hand strength, wherein the opening of access doors 22 includes the unlocking of latches 36 therein.
It would thus be desirable to have a tool for opening access doors (e.g., access doors 22) located in outer surfaces of cylindrical drums (e.g., drum 12) of textile laundering appliances (e.g., washer/extractor 10). Such a tool would allow users lacking sufficient hand strength to unlock the latches to open the access doors.